Topology of Bi$_2$Se$_3$ nanosheets

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Licerán, Lucas Maisel, Koerhuis, Sebastiaan, Vanmaekelbergh, Daniel, Stoof, Henk
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Licerán, Lucas Maisel
Koerhuis, Sebastiaan
Vanmaekelbergh, Daniel
Stoof, Henk
author_facet Licerán, Lucas Maisel
Koerhuis, Sebastiaan
Vanmaekelbergh, Daniel
Stoof, Henk
contents Recently, the quantum spin-Hall edge channels of two-dimensional colloidal nanocrystals of the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ were observed directly. Motivated by this development, we reconsider the four-band effective model which has been traditionally employed in the past to describe thin nanosheets of this material. Derived from a three-dimensional $\boldsymbol{k} \boldsymbol{\cdot} \boldsymbol{p}$ model, it physically describes the top and bottom electronic surface states at the $Γ$ point that become gapped due to the material's small thickness. However, we find that the four-band model for the surface states alone, as derived directly from the three-dimensional theory, is inadequate for the description of thin films of a few quintuple layers and even yields an incorrect topological invariant within a significant range of thicknesses. To address this limitation we propose an eight-band model which, in addition to the surface states, also incorporates the set of bulk states closest to the Fermi level. We find that the eight-band model not only captures most of the experimental observations, but also agrees with previous first-principles calculations of the $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ invariant in thin films of varying thickness. The band inversion around the $Γ$ point, which endows the surface-like bands with topology, is shown to be enabled by the presence of the additional bulk-like states without requiring any reparametrization of the resulting effective Hamiltonian.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2309_02792
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Topology of Bi$_2$Se$_3$ nanosheets
Licerán, Lucas Maisel
Koerhuis, Sebastiaan
Vanmaekelbergh, Daniel
Stoof, Henk
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Other Condensed Matter
Quantum Physics
Recently, the quantum spin-Hall edge channels of two-dimensional colloidal nanocrystals of the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ were observed directly. Motivated by this development, we reconsider the four-band effective model which has been traditionally employed in the past to describe thin nanosheets of this material. Derived from a three-dimensional $\boldsymbol{k} \boldsymbol{\cdot} \boldsymbol{p}$ model, it physically describes the top and bottom electronic surface states at the $Γ$ point that become gapped due to the material's small thickness. However, we find that the four-band model for the surface states alone, as derived directly from the three-dimensional theory, is inadequate for the description of thin films of a few quintuple layers and even yields an incorrect topological invariant within a significant range of thicknesses. To address this limitation we propose an eight-band model which, in addition to the surface states, also incorporates the set of bulk states closest to the Fermi level. We find that the eight-band model not only captures most of the experimental observations, but also agrees with previous first-principles calculations of the $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ invariant in thin films of varying thickness. The band inversion around the $Γ$ point, which endows the surface-like bands with topology, is shown to be enabled by the presence of the additional bulk-like states without requiring any reparametrization of the resulting effective Hamiltonian.
title Topology of Bi$_2$Se$_3$ nanosheets
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Other Condensed Matter
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.02792